Glue
by Lady Icicle
Summary: Because she was the glue that held them together, and she would do anything for her boys. Warning: Character Death, hints of Team Seven x Sakura
1. Sakura

AN: Hello everyone! I know I should be working on VINTA, but I wanted to try my hand at something... darker. Please read and review.

Warning: Character Death, Angst

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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Glue

Chapter One: Sakura

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Because she was the glue that held them together, and she would do anything for her boys.

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Sakura watched in horror as Sasuke and Naruto rushed at each other, Sasuke with Kusanagi charged with Chidori Nagashi, and Naruto with his Rasenshuriken, eerily reminiscent of the scene from the hospital rooftop, so long ago. Her cries for them to stop fell on deaf ears, and she struggled fruitlessly to reach them, Kakashi's arms a steel restraint around her.

"Let me go, sensei! I… I need to stop them!" Sakura cried, still struggling, her mind half-stuck on the past, bringing her back to that day, making her regress back to her mentality then, of _'ohgodIneedtostopthem,Ineedtoreachthem,pleaseletmereachthemintime…!'_

"Sakura… it's too dangerous. There's nothing we can do." Kakashi's solemn voice sounded. Sakura ignored his words, despite knowing how much those words cost him to say, despite knowing that he was right, despite _knowing_ that they were too worn out from fighting Team Taka to be in any shape to intervene.

"But… But… They'll _die_!" Her voice cracked on the last word. It wasn't supposed to be this way. They were supposed to be a team, and even more than that, a _family_. They were supposed to support each other, and forgive each other, and love each other above all else. Sasuke was supposed to return to them, and they were supposed to forgive him, and they were supposed to work towards mending the bonds that had been broken years ago.

_It wasn't supposed to be this way!_

And yet, Sasuke and Naruto were heading towards each other with the intent to kill, their eyes filled will nothing but hate for each other, wielding their most lethal attacks, treating each other like enemies and not like the brother they should be, and _shehadtoreachthem!_

Summoning the last vestiges of chakra from somewhere within her, Sakura forced her way out of Kakashi's hold, and made a desperate attempt to reach the duo.

She shunshin-ed between them _(she'd been so proud when she had learnt it, all by herself, had waited for the perfect moment to show her achievement to her boys-)_, her position _(between them, as always-) _only enhancing the feeling of déjà vu they felt. And, in the same way, their eyes widened in horror - Naruto's red with slitted pupils, Sasuke's surrounded by the traces of the tears of blood he'd cried earlier – knowing that they couldn't move out of the path they were on.

But Kakashi wasn't going to save the day this time. She could hear his anguished cry behind her – she was too far, he was too tired, he was going to be too late, and she hoped he wouldn't blame himself, because it had been _her_ choice, had _always_ been her choice.

She could never stand by when she could do something to help her boys, even if it cost her her life.

Even as that thought crossed her mind, she knew it was a futile hope; her boys always did have the tendency to blame themselves for things that weren't their fault, to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, to take on burdens and responsibilities that weren't theirs to begin with… And it had always been her, who tried to be there for them, tried to be their support, to give them love and comfort when they were overwhelmed, to be their sanctuary when they needed it most.

Though even in that, she had failed. With Kakashi, she'd ironically been too late – his scars were too old, his wounds too deep for her to even begin to scratch the surface. With Sasuke, she'd never been there, not in the way he needed – too foolish and blinded when they were younger, and then never close enough, in all the ways that mattered: physically, mentally, emotionally… And with Naruto, who had given so much for her and the village, she'd never understood him, never tried, until they'd grown up and she'd realised just how much she had wilfully ignored about him, insisting on casting him as the village idiot, and nothing more.

She gave one last smile to her boys, bitter with could-have-beens and should-haves, with what-ifs and maybes, and yet devastatingly beautiful all the same – a smile filled with love, and acceptance, and most of all…

Forgiveness.

_Because she was the glue that held them all together, and she would do anything for her boys._

Because, in the end, she was still the same helpless little girl on the rooftop, crying for her teammates to stop fighting.

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AN2: I wonder what you guys think about this. Is it worth continuing? Well, I'm continuing it anyway, but I'd like your opinion nonetheless! The next chapters are going to be from Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke's point of view, respectively. It's probably going to be a five-part series, with the last chapter being a sort of wrap up kind of thing.

I really wanted to include Yamato and Sai, but I just couldn't fit them in comfortably, no matter how I tried!

And sorry if I screwed up the timelines and stuff, I just kind of rushed this out and my brain's an angst-ridden mess right now, all the facts are jumbled up.


	2. Kakashi

AN: Hello! I'm back with the next chapter of Glue. Thanks for all your comments, and favourites and following, etc.

This is actually my favourite chapter (out of the few I've already written), mostly because a) it's Kakashi! b) I love chapters written like these, and c)...it's Kakashi!

By the way, sorry for forgetting this, but this story contains hints of KakaSaku, NaruSaku and SasuSaku (basically, **Team Seven x Sakura**). If you don't like any/all of these pairings, you might not want to read it. You're more than welcome to read it anyway though!

All right, on with the story!

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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Glue

Chapter 2: Kakashi

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He'd been amused when she'd first called them 'her boys', and even more so when he realised that _he_ had been included in that exasperatedly-affectionate term. And even though he was fourteen years older than her, was most definitely not a 'boy', and had been more than twice her age when she'd first coined the term, he'd never protested.

It had felt strangely _right_ to be included in that group.

It could have been due to her tendency to show up at his apartment after he'd return from a mission, somehow just _knowing_ that he'd been injured, rolling her eyes in exasperation at his long-standing aversion to visiting the hospital as she healed him, all the while halfheartedly scolding him for not taking care of himself.

It could have been due to the way she would always understand when he wanted someone to talk to, when he wanted to be alone, and when he wanted someone to simply be there beside him, as a silent yet solid presence, to ground him when he felt like he was drowning in his sorrow and bone-deep exhaustion.

It could have been due to the way she would show up at the memorial stone, kneeling next to him, reverently tracing her fingers over the kanji of the names of the village's _true_ heroes, particularly Obito's, Rin's and his sensei's. Once, when he'd given into his curiosity and asked her why she'd do that for hours beside him, even though she didn't particularly know them, she'd smiled and replied, "Because they were there for you, sensei, when I couldn't be, and because it's thanks to them that you're here right now."

It could have been due to the way she had him wrapped around her little finger, without either of them realising it, on his part, until he'd found himself discretely flashing his sharingan to chase away the adolescent, pathetic, unworthy _insects_ who'd dared to try to approach her at the bar, while she obliviously gestured wildly at him, slopping her sake all over herself (and him as well), in the middle of retelling an escapade of hers that he'd listened to about twenty times already that night alone, conspicuously Icha Icha-less, like it was the most natural thing for him to do.

It was then that he realised that maybe, just _maybe_, his feelings towards his pink-haired former student were more than platonic.

This realisation had led him to strive to greater heights, to be strong enough that he would always be able to protect her_(though she'd always pouted whenever he darted in front of her, had always insisted she could take care of herself-)_, and to return home from every mission, no matter how impossible it seemed, to protect her heart. _(Because he was certain that she would be one of the few who would shed truly heartfelt tears on his behalf.)_

This realisation was also what led to him feeling like his heart was being ripped out of his chest, even as his stomach dropped and he cried her name in anguish and desperation, because he knew, he _knew_ that he was too late, that he _couldn't save her._

And he could not accept it.

Yet, even as he stumbled forward on stiff limbs paralyzed with chakra exhaustion and fear _(how was he still standing?)_, wide mismatched eyes fixed on the scene before him, the chilling realisation that he _had_ to accept it, because there was _nothing_ else he could do, settled into his bones.

Seconds later, he wished he could close his eyes _(but not as hard as he wished she would get out of the way, that she would be safe, that someone would save her, because he couldn't-)_, for his sharingan recorded every second of his precious girl being torn apart, literally and figuratively by two of her boys, searing it into his retinas and into his brain forever.

Recorded her last smile, in all its tragedy, its beauty, and its _love_, as she looked behind her, into his eyes for the final time.

Recorded how that gentle, devastatingly beautiful expression _(her last smile, never again, her face would never light up in that happy, endearing smile he loved so much-)_ morphed into one of agony, as she stood between her two boys, sacrificing her life to save theirs.

Recorded her lifeless body as it fell, in achingly slow motion, only to be caught by the arms of the very people who had killed her.

_Please, God, if you're out there, please, save her, I'll give anything, I'll _do_ anything, just please, please, pleasepleasepleasesaveher, because, because…._

Because she was the glue that held him together_(though she'd never known just how much he'd needed her, and he regretted every minute he never told her that-)._

And he'd fall to pieces without her.

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AN2: Sigh. Kakashi.

Well that's chapter two finished. Please leave a review, preferably about your thoughts regarding this chapter! I teared a little while writing this...


	3. Naruto

AN: Hello, hello! Here's the third chapter of Glue. I can't believe I'm churning these out at such a rapid pace. If only this could happen for VINTA...

Anyway, please read and review!

On with the story~

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Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it.

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Glue

Chapter Three: Naruto

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His eyes widened in horror, the sight before him almost too shocking, too horrible, too devastating to comprehend.

Almost.

The hatred and bloodlust vanished immediately from his eyes, red melting back into sky blue _(her favourite colour, she'd cheekily confided to him once, relishing in his resulting fire engine red blush-)_.

She was standing between him and Sasuke.

His first and only love, his most important person, the thing he wanted to protect the most, was standing before him, in between two lethal attacks.

_She was going to die._

The certainty of that realisation took his breath away, as his insides froze, his brain refusing to compute it, even as he forced it to race, forced it to come up with something, _anything_, to save her.

But there was nothing. Konoha's number one most unpredictable ninja _(he remembered her laugh whenever she remembered that title, her eyes lighting up with glee-)_ would fail to come up with an ingenious solution, right when it mattered the most.

He'd only felt something similar to this once before, in the exact same situation, when he had almost killed her, if not for Kakashi (_Please, Kaka-sensei, please be on time, just this once, please save her again, I _can't_-_)… And even that felt insignificant in the face of the agony he was feeling now.

_He couldn't lose her._ Not his Sakura-chan, the girl who had initially been his crush _(for her sakura-pink locks, for her sparkling green eyes-)_, but who had evolved into something much, much more important to him. His motivation for training as hard as he did, the symbol of what he was ultimately trying to protect _(because yes, the village was important, but the village didn't have such abundant beauty, didn't have that pure a heart, didn't bestow him with the prettiest, happiest smile _ever_ whenever she caught sight of him-)_, the one who had so lovingly embraced him whenever he needed it the most.

He almost lost it as he remembered the way she had cried (for _him_!) when they'd sat together one night, when she'd listened to him spill the horrors of his past to her, when she'd raged at the villagers for their treatment of him, when she'd apologized so sincerely for her past treatment of him. _(Because she'd never understood, that he never thought less of her for it, that he'd actually admired the way she had grown and matured so much in so short a time…)_

As he remembered how she'd roughly shove a bento box at him every few days, grumbling that all her hard work at patching him together all the time would go to waste if he ate ramen three times a day, every day, head turned away to try and hide the blush that graced her face.

As he remembered the way he'd paused at the epiphany that he was in love with her, had always been, and always would be, in a way that was thousands of times more powerful than the infatuation he, and everyone else, had thought it was, and how it had just fuelled his drive to train harder, become stronger, so that she'd be proud of him, and so that he could protect her, so he'd never have to see her cry again, as he asked Ero-Sennin to up his training so that _Sakura-chan would be super impressed when he returned to the village, dattebayo!_

And yet, he wasn't strong enough to save her from himself, from his petty fight with Sasuke, and he couldn'tchangedirectionnow,ohgod,sakura,_getoutoftheway-_

She was going to die. _By his hand_.

His prized jutsu, the one he'd developed with _her_ in mind, to protect _her_, to bring Sasuke back, for _her_, would ultimately be the very thing that took her away from him.

"Sa-" He tried to voice, tried to yell for her to get away, the horrified scream that was building up with every second that he drew closer to her catching in his throat, clashing with the words that wanted to spill out. _Don't smile at me, Sakura-chan! I don't deserve it! Don't you know what's going to happen?! Why are you doing this? I never wanted this, please, someone-_

But it was already too late.

His hand cut through her flesh like butter, as he forced himself to watch as her face twisted in torturous pain, even as his heart twisted in a similar way, bile rising in his throat.

He deserved this. Deserved watching this, the product of his foolishness, the ultimate price he could possibly pay.

He caught her in his arms as she fell, cradling her like she was the most precious thing to him in the world _(which she was, had always been, and always would be-)_, barely registering the other pair of arms that also encircled her, his shaking arms stained with her blood _(wrong, this was wrong, so veryveryveryvery_wrong_-)._

"Sakura-chan, please, I'm sorry, don't leave me, I love you, I-I need you so much, be-because…" He stammered, trembling uncontrollably, tears blurring his vision and dripping onto her face, washing away only a fraction of the blood that splattered it.

…Because she was the glue that held his resolve together…

And without her, who was he going to fight for?

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AN2: Thoughts? Feelings?

Two chapters to go.

As always, apologies for any mistakes.

XOXO

Ice


	4. Sasuke

AN: Okay, I lied. I couldn't resist posting this, even though it's so soon after the last chapter - I don't really need the reviews that come from 'dragging' the story out, though they'll definitely be nice...

This is the chapter I'm the most worried about, because Sasuke is one of my least favourite characters, and I have no idea how to characterise him. Comments on this would be appreciated.

Also, I decided to add another chapter to this fic, so instead of being a five-parter, this is going to have six chapters! Which is actually rather fitting, six chapters, six members of Team Seven... you'll have to wait and see what they're about.

Anyway, on with the story!

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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Glue

Chapter Four: Sasuke

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Rage filled every inch of his being, as he rushed towards the blond before him, the crackling of his signature technique a distant echo in his ears, as a blood red haze that had nothing to do with his kekkei genkai flooded his already blurry vision.

The blond drew closer to him, and even though his vision was failing, he could still imagine the expression of utter fury on his face_(like that day in the Valley, him against his best friend, throwing away everything for his goal, throwing _her_ away-)_, and the feeling of déjà vu that resulted would have overwhelmed a lesser man.

But he knew better than to let emotion get in the way.

Emotions were weak. They influenced you into thinking irrationally, made you do stupid things, kept you from reaching your true potential _(I love you so much! If you stay with me-)_.

Almost as if summoned by his thoughts, a flash of pink entered the bloody haze of his vision.

_No_.

Where had she come from? He had vaguely registered Kakashi restraining her exhausted form at the beginning, and he had been sure she was too weakened to interfere, so how-? No, that wasn't important. What was important was that he and Naruto were on a war path, and she was in the way. He was wrong, this wasn't like the day at the Valley of the End. With a sinking feeling he realised must be horror, he corrected himself.

It was the day at the hospital, all over again.

Only that, unlike last time, _She_ wouldn't be getting away unscathed.

Emotions were weak. However, this didn't prevent his eyes from widening, didn't prevent him from feeling fear for the first time in a long time, didn't prevent him from trying to veer off course, even if this would mean thwarting his quest to get stronger _(I must get strong, strong enough to avenge Itachi, and what better way to do it than to defeat the saviour of that damned village-?)._

Not her. Anyone, but her.

Not the girl who could always bring out the best – and worst – in him, who would always make him _feel_ so much _(Sakura, who did this to you-?)_.

Not the girl who had tried her hardest to save him _(she wasn't _stupid_, she had seen the signs, she had just let it fuel her efforts-)_, the girl who was the only thing preventing him from falling over the edge into insanity, the one who held him together.

_Not the girl who held his heart._

Even as he watched, her back straightened, and a determined glint entered her eyes _(I vow, I swear, 'til my dying breath, I will protect my boys – that includes you, Sasuke-kun!)_, and the smile that graced her face would have taken his breath away _(but he was already breathless, in dread, because no, not her, _anyone_, but her-)_.

Emotions were weak. But they made her strong.

He was strangely numb when Kusanagi cut through her, but the sight of her pained face brought it all crashing down onto him.

He couldn't help but close his eyes, allowing himself a brief moment of weakness, only to force them open seconds later.

He had to watch. He had to witness this, no matter how much pain it caused him, because it was his fault. This trivial fight, this ridiculous notion of vengeance – would it never stop? _(Or perhaps it would, because now, the person he cherished above all else had been claimed by it-)_

He deserved to watch, because he had tainted her with his darkness, and he had broken her.

Her, the girl who had selflessly loved him, who had saved him from being overwhelmed by the darkness, from falling off the edge into the abyss-

Emotions were weak, but he couldn't keep his arms from wrapping around her as she fell, couldn't help the slight trembling that wracked him-

Their eyes met, his wide with emotions long forgotten, hers, slightly unfocused, set in a face splattered with blood _(it doesn't suit you, blood red doesn't suit you-)_, the message they wanted to convey ringing loud and clear nonetheless, even as they closed _(no, not for the final time, because she can't be dying, not her-)_

**I forgive you.**

**I forgive you, Sasuke. **

**A thousand times over, I forgive you. **

_How can you forgive me so easily? _

… _How can I ever forgive myself? _

He couldn't keep himself from brushing his _(slightly shaky)_ hand through her hair _(because, hell, those rumours were true, he did like long hair, but only if it was pink, and paired with the brightest, greenest eyes he'd ever seen, and that _smile_-)_.

He ignored Naruto's frantic rambling, staring into her face with burning intensity.

_No, you aren't dead, you can't be dead, stop playing, wake up, _please_. I can't, won't believe it…_

…Because she was the glue that kept his sanity _(his whole being)_ together…

And losing her would push him off the edge.

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AN2: And that's a wrap! Two chapters more. (I said this last chapter too. Lol.) Review, please.

XOXO

Ice


	5. Aftermath

AN: I spent a while trying to find the perfect song for this. In the end, I think this is still best read in silence - though if you want to, you could listen to Utakata Hanabi by Supercell. This is actually ending 14 for Shippuden; The full version is six minutes. This song has a very nice 'feel' to it, and I was listening to the Shippuden soundtrack while writing this.

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Disclaimer: Don't own it.

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Glue

Chapter Five: Aftermath

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He slowly approached the forms of his ex-students _(she'd always been his favourite, though she'd never believed it, and he couldn't blame her, he had failed as her teacher, as her protector-)_. Every step sent stabbing pain through his abused and exhausted body _(sensei, you're not exactly young anymore, you know-)._ Heedless of the pain, he plodded on, only stopping when he was next to them.

Naruto and Sasuke were hunched over her _(bloody, battered-)_ body, clutching her to themselves tightly, as if desperately hoping that their hold on her could anchor her to this world (_it's too late, everything had been too _**late**_-_). Naruto was weeping freely, while Sasuke's shoulders shook slightly with emotion, silent tears sliding down his cheeks. In any other situation, he'd have stared long and hard; he didn't think there had been any emotion left in his former student. However, now, he just brushed it aside. It didn't matter.

His eyes finally rested on her face _(a smile suits you so much better-),_ it was dirty, and blood covered her cheeks, though he could see traces of where their tears must have fallen and washed away the blood, and the blood was streaked in some places, as if unsteady hands had tried to clean some of it away. He suspected it was Sasuke, though it was hard to reconcile such a tender action with said Uchiha, because Naruto was too much of a mess to have done it (_even now, he was murmuring nonsensical words to her- half-forgotten memories, broken promises, begs, pleas-_). Her expression was unnervingly peaceful _(a far cry from the torturous pain that had been etched onto it, from the beautiful smiles that had graced it, from that puppy-dog pout he could never resist-_). Her eyes were closed, and her long lashes brushed her cheeks. If one ignored the blood, it was almost as if she was merely asleep. _(Eeek! Kakashi-sensei! Don't just sneak into my apartment, I look horrible, I just woke up-!)_

He gently grasped her gloved hand, which had been hanging lifelessly, fingertips just brushing the ground. Deceptively delicate, it masked the true strength it was capable of _(her description in a nutshell-)_, and the worn gloves were a testament to how much hard work she'd put into training, into protecting those important to her _(Eh, gloves? Kakashi-sensei, I didn't even think you remembered my birthday! Thanks, these were exactly what I wanted-!)_.

Seized by a sudden impulse, he tugged off his glove, then hers, lacing their fingers together _(as best he could, because her hand was limp, and cold, and dea-)_. This innocent touch, the feeling of his skin on hers, grounded him, though it brought renewed pain from the reminder that, no, this wasn't a nightmare, this was real, she was-

Her hands were too cold _(they were always so warm, pulsing with ethereal green light that healed and brought life, with a blue glow that wrought destruction-)_

Her features were too slack _(she was always worrying for one of her boys, because for five grown men, they were more trouble than toddlers-)_

Her face was too expressionless _(she had always burned with life, with vitality, with one emotion or another, be it anger, happiness, sadness, irritation, or simply _love_-)_

It was too much.

His shoulders shook, and he let out a strangled sound, a cross between a sob and an anguished moan.

And then he was sobbing shamelessly, gripping her hand tightly _(it's okay to show emotion once in a while, you know, sensei-)_

His mask was soaked with his tears _(he remembered how she had stared when he had nonchalantly tugged his mask down one day, after a particularly brutal sparring session-)_

He remembered her eyes-

Her laugh-

_Everything_-

Gone.

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Quieting, he pressed a kiss to her palm _(when had he lifted her hand to his face? When had he pulled down his mask-?)_. He pulled on her glove again, before he let his bare fingers trace the contours of her face, smudging the blood _(and tears, hers – when had she cried? Had she been crying when she-? From pain? From sadness? The thought was too painful to bear- and theirs)_ on her face.

He pulled her from the arms of his former students as he stood, their upturned faces _(with bloodshot eyes wet with tears)_ lost, questioning, painfully reminding him of a time when they had been children, a true team, when the only reason he'd carry her home would be that she had fallen asleep after training _again_-

"Let's bring her home."

He turned and walked in the direction of home _(no, it would never be home again, because home was where the heart is, and she was gone, gonegonegonegone,_ gone-). He was exhausted, and in pain, but he'd be damned before he let anyone else do this task.

He hated them. Hated them so _passionately_, because it was all their fault that she'd never smile at him again, never laugh, never cry-

Hated himself for _not being strong enough_ to protect her _(I'll give my life before I allow any harm to come to my cute students-)_

But still… he forgave them.

Because she'd given her life for them to live.

He bent down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Because he'd never been able to deny her anything she wanted, and what she had desired, above all else, was that they become a family: her, Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, Yamato and himself.

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AN2: This is one of my favourite chapters, again. And yes, I am writing an awful lot of Kakashi. Not because I'm biased, but because I understand his character the most, and I feel like I can do him justice.

Thanks for reading. Please review!

The epilogue's left. I've already written it, fyi. I'll put it up in a few days, because well, I like building anticipation. Heh. Though if you review, I might be giddy enough to post it as early as... hm... tomorrow? The day after?

Just to encourage you, that's all!


	6. Things Left Unsaid

AN: Hello, my lovelies! Here's the last chapter of Glue. I hope it is as nice to read as it was to write.

I recommend listening to Sakura by Ikimono Gakari while reading this.

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Disclaimer: For the last time, I don't own Naruto.

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Glue

Chapter Six: Thing left unsaid

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He gingerly brushed dried leaves off the flat, rectangular stone, letting his fingers linger over the kanji that spelled out her name, a gesture that was shockingly intimate, especially given his… past.

He had never really been good with physical contact and expressions of affection _(she'd pronounced him hopeless at it, even more so than the whole social interaction and feeling emotions thing-)_.

It was something she had promised him she would help him with, when she came back from her mission (_but she didn't come back, at least, not in the way he'd expected - cold, lifeless- though it had been the first time in a long while that he had shed tears, so long that he had forgotten how it felt like-)._

"It's been a while," He said aloud.

"I've missed you." _And I still miss you, every single day. It seems empty without your presence; the air seems still without your laugh, the atmosphere seems dull without your smile-_

"I just returned from a mission." _Sasuke's coming along nicely, he's returned to Konoha to honour your memory, Naruto's finally starting to visit Ichiraku again, Kakashi's stopped training like crazy, he even cracked open Icha Icha the other day, Yamato's started using his 'scary face' again, I've started to name my paintings again-_

"I have something for you," _I can only do this, and hope that somewhere, somehow, you're watching over us, and this brings a smile to your face-_

He gently unrolled a scroll, and pinned it against the tiny Sakura bonsai trees Yamato had grown around her grave. It was a portrait, a scene captured for eternity in ink, of six people: Naruto, Kakashi, Yamato, Sasuke and himself, surrounding her, all smiling and laughing happily together. A team, a _family_, with her in the centre, just as she was _(had been, would always be)_ the centre of their world. He hated drawing people _(except her, he had a whole wall papered with portraits of her- no matter how 'creepy' Naruto said that was-_), and hated drawing fictional scenarios even more – true beauty lay in nature, in reality, in the easy smile she'd always sported – but she was special, had always been special, and he'd do a _lot_ more than paint in a way he disliked for her.

"I hope you like it." _I _know_ you'd have liked it, because I made it for you, and I've carefully observed what makes your smile brighter, and I can just see it now, that smile you'd have given me, if, if…_

"I've got to go; I haven't reported to Hokage-sama yet…" _Tsunade is drowning her sorrow in sake, and Shizune doesn't have the heart to stop her, not when she's hurting just as much, the least we all do is try to keep her mind off it with work, with mission reports, with silly antics…_

"Besides, it's Yamato's turn to talk to you, then we're meeting up at that restaurant you love, the one that sells sukiyaki, Naruto says it's for 'team bonding time'…" _Because if it's one thing you've taught us better than Kakashi has, it's how much teamwork has to be valued._

Trailing his fingers along her tombstone one last time, wishing it wasn't so cold, so hard, a symbol of the harsh reality he's forced to face every single day for the rest of his life, he uttered,

"I'll come back tomorrow," And the day after that, and the day after that, _forever_…

"Goodbye." _I love you._

* * *

He sets down a single red rose _(ne, Yamato-taichou, would you grow some roses for me, preeeetty pleeeaaase?)_ on the stone marker, absently noting the new portrait Sai's left out for her.

He painstakingly grooms the bonsai trees he's planted for her _(Eeeh, Sakura bonsai trees? That's impossible! Though that'd be pretty awesome, huh? Heh…)_, even as he begins to speak.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," _How's heaven, this time of the year? Sorry we missed New Year's, we each tried to worm our way out of the mission, Naruto even threw the mother of all temper tantrums, but there's been an overload of missions lately, and we had to go. We'd even planned it out- we'd have a picnic, right here, and we'd have bought that dango from the next village that you love so much…_

"Sunday is coming, so we'll all see you then, again," Because they usually had their private time with her, but Sundays were family days, so they gathered together to eat, right here in the graveyard, because they weren't complete without her.

"Naruto's thinking of bringing Ichiraku ramen this time," _A year ago, we'd all complain, but as it is, we're just relieved he can eat ramen now without breaking down._

"The team is slowly coming together, though it's never going to be the same," _But you sacrificed so much for this, so we're determined to make it work._

"A year has gone by so quickly, huh…" _I can't believe I survived a year without you, it seems like just yesterday I saw you off on that mission, yet it also seems like that was a millennia ago._

"I wish time would pass slower," _Because it's wearing away at my memories so quickly. I'm starting to forget your scent, I've forgotten the exact pitch your voice reaches when you become embarrassed, I'm starting to forget the way you glowed so beautifully under the light of the full moon…_

"I hate it. Time, that is," _I'm scared of it… I don't want to forget._

"But life goes on." _But I know you wouldn't want me to wallow in self-pity and cling to your memory like this, so I'll continue living, for you. Because…_

"I love you."

"Thanks for listening to me babble," _Thank you for everything. For caring, for loving, for not treating me as a replacement (of the Shodai, of Kakashi-senpai…), but as my own person. Thank you for welcoming me into your heart so freely, thank you for showing me what true love is, thank you for these precious memories._

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," _And one day, I hope to hear your reply._

"Sleep well…"

Yamato pressed a kiss to his fingers, which he then brushed gently against the stone. With one last parting glance over his shoulder, he walked away, leaving behind an obviously well-kept and well-loved grave.

A breeze passed through the graveyard, rustling the grass and the bonsai trees, sending sakura petals scattering in the wind. It carried with it an echo of what could have been a fondly exasperated sigh, a laugh, a sob, or a mix of all three.

* * *

She was the glue that held them together. Unbroken, unafraid, she had freely given them her love, putting all her effort and time into repairing them, these men who looked so perfect on the outside, yet were so shattered, so scarred, so fragile inside.

Because they would always be Her Boys.

…Because she was the glue that held them together, and a bond like that could not be broken by _anything_, not even death.

* * *

AN2: It's done! My first complete fic. (Sniffles.)

Please review, and tell me your opinions about the story!

Thanks for sticking through this with me, even though it was only a little over a week ago that I wrote and posted the first chapter, I feel like I've really grown since them, somehow...

Oh! And anyone who's on twitter, add me at 'icicleojousama' so we can be friends~

XOXO

Ice


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